Getting to know Nad Sylvan, one of prog's most intriguing characters

He’s the theatrical singer who’s worked with plenty of prog royalty. Now Nad Sylvan is back with his second solo album proper, continuing the Gothic concept of the first

"Do I feel Swedish?” ponders Nad Sylvan, sniffing back a cold and hoping it gets better quickly so his voice can adorn the Steve Hackett show in Dublin later that night. “I actually feel more like a person from everywhere – a ‘world citizen’, if that’s not a cliché. And I don’t just mean because of all the touring with Steve.

“I always felt apart from typical Swedish culture,” he reveals. “Growing up in Malmö in the 60s, in a very rough, working-class area, I wasn’t like the others at all. When I was very young I was bullied. I went through hell because I already stood out. I refused to do what everyone else did.